Angela's Ashes Essay | Essay

A Critical Lens: Comparing Angela's Ashes and A Farewell to Arms

Summary: Attempts to verify a critical lens by comparing the books "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway, and "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt. Explores how each story shows the beautiful and commendable sides of human nature. Details how each author exemplify the "universal truths" in their works.

According to William Faulkner, "The best literature is about the old universal truths, such as love, honor, pride, compassion and sacrifice." A good piece of literature always shows the beautiful and commendable sides of human nature, which have been passed from generations to generations. I agree with this lens. Often times, literature serves as a media that introduces the readers to the world of beauty, and allows them to appreciate the worthy human spirit; and the readers, as a result of that, can learn from there and eventually refine their lives. In A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway praises people's braveness and compassion toward others through the characterizations of Henry and the barman; while in Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt, the love of a mother to her children and the pride in a poor child are being reflected through the characterization of Angela and the setting of the...